Debates of May 2nd, 2003

Marriage

[Martin Cauchon, Liberal, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada]

Mr. Speaker, there is no doubt that the member is raising a very important social issue for all Canadians.

We said last summer that we wanted to have parliamentarians involved in the debate. We have asked the justice committee to proceed with the consultation process. I have been told that the consultation is finished now. We expect to have the report soon.

There is no doubt in my mind that we are facing three decisions, one in Quebec, one in Ontario and the decision yesterday by the B.C. Court of Appeal, which was a very interesting and important decision.

We will wait for the recommendations from the committee and then the government will come forward with a position.

Foreign Affairs

[Alexa McDonough, NDP, Halifax, NS]

Mr. Speaker, the foreign affairs minister cannot bring himself to say no to Bush a second time, no matter how bad the idea, and, on its merits, star wars is a very bad idea.

Until recently, the minister was Mr. Multilateralism. Now he is embracing star wars, even though it violates one of the most important arms control treaties on the planet.

Maybe I made a mistake yesterday. Maybe the star wars flip-flop is not a case of the Prime Minister kissing up to Bush, but rather the foreign affairs minister kissing up to the Prime Minister in waiting; or is it both?

[Bill Graham, Liberal, Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, this may be about ballistic missile defence but it is not rocket science to know that we in this government will look at what is in the interests of Canada and Canadians in all circumstances.

We have a long and proud tradition of co-operating with the United States. No decision has been made yet by the cabinet on this. We will be looking at it. We will only make a determination if it is in the interest of Canada and in the interest of preserving peace.

That has always been the basic position we have taken and we will not deviate from that when we discuss anything like this with our American colleagues.

National Defence

[Joe Clark, Progressive Conservative, Calgary Centre, AB]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday, referring to the maritime helicopter project, the Deputy Prime Minister said “There are lots of ways procurements get jiggled around”.

An e-mail was sent on April 3, 2001, to Jean Pelletier, Eddie Goldenberg, Herb Gray and Alphonso Gagliano by Canada's ambassador to France, Raymond Chrétien. Mr. Chrétien outlined changes to the procurement process that would benefit the French bidder, Eurocopter.

Could the acting Prime Minister tell the House why Mr. Chrétien sent his e-mail to his uncle's office and not to the Department of National Defence? Is that what the Deputy Prime Minister meant by jiggling procurements?

[Ralph Goodale, Liberal, Minister of Public Works and Government Services]

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of National Defence and I have answered questions about the MHP on several occasions in the House. We have indicated that the project is now on a rebundled basis. We have indicated that we are now into the second or third step of the outlined procedure for this particular calendar year.

We are determined to follow those steps meticulously to determine that the process is absolutely appropriate in the circumstances and, at the end of the day, that the military gets the equipment it requires, and at the very best possible price.

[Joe Clark, Progressive Conservative, Calgary Centre, AB]

Mr. Speaker, as a Saskatchewan boy, the minister would know that we can rebundle this stuff as much as we want but we would not want to step in it.

Ambassador Chrétien's representation on behalf of France was made on April 3. Exactly three weeks later, the Department of National Defence announced a change to the requirement specifications in the way that Eurocopter wanted.

Did the Prime Minister's Office or the Privy Council Office instruct National Defence to give Eurocopter what it wanted?

[Ralph Goodale, Liberal, Minister of Public Works and Government Services]

Mr. Speaker, I have absolutely no knowledge whatsoever of the allegation that the hon. gentleman is making but I would assure him that this Saskatchewan boy will do his very best job to deliver for the people of Canada.

Health

[Grant Hill, Canadian Alliance, Macleod, AB]

Mr. Speaker, as a medical doctor I am proud of the health professionals and the way they acted in Toronto and beyond Queen's Park.

As a politician I am disappointed with the actions of the health minister. We now have a new development in the SARS case. We have patients who are relapsing. That means they may be infectious after they have gone home from hospital.

What is the health minister doing about this new development?

[Anne McLellan, Liberal, Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, the hon. member is right to raise that issue. It was discussed yesterday at an international conference of SARS experts in Toronto.

As Dr. David Heymann, from the WHO said, it is a concern and it is one that the global community is going to take very seriously.

What we need to do is the epidemiological work. We need to look at these patients, case by case, who have allegedly relapsed, and try to figure out why they have relapsed and whether there are certain populations that may be sensitive to relapse.

I can assure the hon. member and all Canadians that we are watching this very carefully, along with the global community.

[Grant Hill, Canadian Alliance, Macleod, AB]

Mr. Speaker, a dozen patients in Hong Kong have been reported now as having possibly relapsed. We have one in Canada who may be in the same position.

Surveillance of every single patient after they leave the hospital is necessary. My question is straightforward. Is that surveillance in Canada taking place?

[Anne McLellan, Liberal, Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, as I indicated, we are working, not only here at home but with the global community, to understand whether relapse is taking place, and if in fact it is taking place, what is causing it.

We will do everything in partnership with local public health officials to follow up with these patients. We will do everything that is needed to ensure surveillance of those patients is done so we will understand more about the possibility of relapse in certain patients who have suffered from SARS.

Iraq

[Francine Lalonde, Bloc, Mercier, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the problems in Iraq are increasing. Restoration of water and power supplies is happening at a snail's pace, the hospitals are paralyzed, security is still not a certainty, and what is most important, the public is becoming increasingly hostile as a result of events like the incident in Falluyah, and sees the foreign forces more and more as forces of occupation.

In offering his cooperation to the forces occupying Iraq without insisting that the UN play a central role, is the minister not at risk of having the local people associate the Canadians in Iraq—

[The Deputy Speaker]

The hon. Minister of Foreign Affairs.

[Bill Graham, Liberal, Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, we are all concerned about the situation in Iraq. I think the conditions the hon. member refers to demonstrate exactly why this government and the international community should continue their humanitarian aid. The Minister for International Cooperation must continue his efforts for the people of Iraq.

This is a difficult and complex situation, but we are there for the people of Iraq. We must help put an end to the situation rather than making it worse.

[Francine Lalonde, Bloc, Mercier, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the situation is indeed a difficult one over there. Why will the minister not side with the New York Times or the Washington Post in calling for the United Nations to be the main overseer of what he wants to see done?

Is the minister not concerned that offering his services without setting any conditions will diminish his ability to press for a UN presence during this great challenge to rebuild Iraq?

[Susan Whelan, Liberal, Minister for International Cooperation]

Mr. Speaker, it is quite obvious, and it has been stated several times by the Prime Minister and by members on this side of the House, that we do indeed want the UN to have a vital role. We have heard the President of United States and the prime minister from the UK say very clearly that the UN would have a vital role.

We are working with the UN. We are working with a number of our international partners on the ground to ensure that humanitarian aid and assistance gets to the people in need and meets the needs of the Iraqi people.

Foreign Affairs

[Keith Martin, Canadian Alliance, Esquimalt—Juan de Fuca, BC]

Mr. Speaker, four Canadians are being held hostage on Nigerian oil wells. One of the hostages wrote an e-mail saying “Make no mistake of the danger we are in. If they have lost everything, they will make sure we lose everything and that means our lives”.

All the government has done is simply confirmed that the hostages were taken. My question is simple. Will the government ask President Obasanjo to personally intervene in the release of these hostages?

[Bill Graham, Liberal, Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, we have already taken steps to do that. I sent a note to the Nigerian government.

The hon. member knows these are very delicate situations and we do not wish to encourage any act that would precipitate an act of violence in connection with a hostage taking.

We are not doing nothing. We have entered into contact with the Nigerian authorities. We are encouraging the president to speak to the company in question. We absolutely wish that the Nigerian authorities, who have in the past been able to resolve these issues without conflict, continue that path and not resort to acts that would endanger the lives of the hostages.

[Keith Martin, Canadian Alliance, Esquimalt—Juan de Fuca, BC]

Mr. Speaker, notes do not save lives. Here is another example of the government's continued inability to deal with a crisis.

Morgan Tsvangirai is on trial in Zimbabwe for treason. The government has an RCMP report that needs to be released. It said in the House that this report would be released and was released months ago. In an e-mail from Tsvangirai's defence team it states “The Canadian government is not prepared to release the findings of the police report”.

Why did the government tell the House that this police report was released when it was not, and when will it release this police report that will save three people--

[Marlene Jennings, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Solicitor General of Canada]

Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for his question. Unfortunately, I am not in a position to provide a response to the member at this time.

I do wish, however, to state that the RCMP is an independent organization. It has to operate under its rules and procedures.

We will look into the issue of this report that he is talking about and an answer will be given in the House.

Excise Tax Act

[Pierre Paquette, Bloc, Joliette, QC]

Mr. Speaker, like the Bloc Quebecois in February, the Barreau du Québec and the Canadian Bar Association have criticized the Minister of Finance for wanting to retroactively amend the provisions of the Excise Tax Act, thus rendering invalid a number of judgments in favour of school boards, with respect to the GST.

How can the government be so lacking in decency as to seek to retroactively invalidate the agreements it once negotiated with the school boards, agreements that had been approved by the courts, thus giving them the value of a res judicata, a matter already judged?

[Bryon Wilfert, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, as the hon. member knows, there were 29 cases in Quebec which the government did not challenge. On December 21, 2001 the Minister of Finance announced that we would in fact be bringing an amendment before the House. That in fact has now come forward. Afterward, because they were put on notice, the boards, both in Quebec and Ontario, were aware that an amendment would be made to the legislation.

[Pierre Paquette, Bloc, Joliette, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the difference is that the Government of Quebec has never tried to reverse the res judicata, contrary to the federal government's intentions.

Is the Minister of Justice aware that, if the government goes ahead with this, taxpayers will no longer have confidence in judicial decisions on tax law, since, if the government loses, it can always make retroactive changes in matters that have already been settled?

[Bryon Wilfert, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, the actions of the government are not contrary to the rule of law. As the member knows, the government of Quebec also retroactively acted in this case.

In this case, the Government of Canada is not challenging the decision of October 17, 2001. The retroactivity applies only because of the notice of December 21, 2001. The member knows that, and he also knows that all of those who went forward at that time were well aware that the legislation would be brought to the House, which it has.

National Defence

[Gerry Ritz, Canadian Alliance, Battlefords—Lloydminster, SK]

Mr. Speaker, in the request for proposal to bidders on the Sea King replacement project, the Liberals specified, and I quote:

a. the first certified MH shall be delivered no sooner than forty-eight (48) MACA and no later than sixty (60) MACA; [if the bidder is uncomfortable with its schedule]

Given the political interference on this file, can any Liberal minister over there claim this continued foot dragging is nothing more than a cheap trick to guarantee the politically pre-determined outcome?